BOOK ONE 

Some families have secrets they must hide for generations.

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Frances Tarantino has felt her mother’s spirit by her side ever since the woman’s tragic death. Fran’s mother sends beautiful ladybugs to land on her dress whenever she feels lonely or afraid. The little red and orange jewels always bring a smile to the girl’s face. And on those rare occasions when Fran misbehaves, her mother disciplines her. As Fran falls in love for the first time, she learns how dangerous a parent’s discipline can be.

Fran’s grand aunt, Aurora Ciconne, vowed never to take another husband when she became widowed at twenty-two. To a chorus of would-be suitors, she insisted her heart could never belong to another. And now, at fifty-eight, Aurora insists she does not need a man. But in secret, she has always been a bride.

When Fran develops their family’s gift of sight, Aurora searches for a way to free them both from the diabolical enslavement they can speak of to no one else.

The first book of The Haunted Women series follows the lives of two extraordinary women capable of seeing the spectral world—and all they must sacrifice to free themselves from it.

**WARNING: Contains scenes of sexual violence and abuse.**